You Can Never Escape
by Miyako Mizuki
Summary: Yuki should have listened to his instincts that morning. For if he had, he would not be on the floor as the object of his fear walked away in delight...


Yuki had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he rolled over in bed one morning. It isn't that sick feeling, or even the nervous feeling. It was the _scared_ feeling that made his stomach roll that morning. Not that he would even admit that. Not to that damn cat. No way.

Ignoring the feeling for now, he reluctantly got out of the cozy warmth of his bed to get dressed. Adjusting his tie for the final "student council" look, he trudged down the hallway looking for something to eat. As usual, he saw Tohru in her apron bustling about the kitchen. Yuki had not the slightest idea how she could do so at this ungodly hour of the morning, but was happy to see her nonetheless. Someone he was NOT happy to see, however, was currently resting his head on his heads at the table. The minute Yuki walked into the small room, Kyo's head snapped up to look at him. Yuki rolled his eyes.  
"What do you want, you damn rat?" Kyo questioned grumpily.  
"As this is the kitchen, one with half a brain would know what I'm here for. As you are less than fortunate, I will elaborate. I. Am. Hungry." Yuki said, resisting the urge to smack that stupid cat upside the head.  
"I knew that! I was testing to see if you were looking for a fight with your stupid breakfast." Kyo grumbled, going back to sulking with his head on his hands. Tohru laughed from somewhere in the background and the smell of strawberries hit Yuki full force. Mouth suddenly watering, he looked up to see her approaching him with a large fruit tart.  
"You seem a little off this morning, are you okay?" Tohru questioned, slight concern in her voice.  
"Just hungry." Yuki said, eyes darting to the tart. Tohru simply laughed and handed it to him before walking back into the kitchen. As he sat down to eat, he paused with his fork in midair as that feeling hit him again. He just couldn't shake it off for long. That irrevocable fear . . . what was going on? Noticing the odd looks he was getting, he returned to his tart.

Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru walked into the classroom right on time. The bell had rung the second they were seated and the teacher had come in not long after that. The lesson had then begun. They were learning more in depth concepts of Ancient Civilizations. When they had studied China and the impact of the Zodiac, Kyo and Yuki facepalmed many a time after they had begun to realize how inaccurate these things could be to people who were . . . uninformed. Tohru shot them looks the entire unit.

Now, they had moved into ancient Egypt. Yuki found the Egyptian religion fascinating, but believed that there was much left uncovered in this area as well. Maybe there were people out there with secrets like his. Maybe there were people who had rulers like him . . . and the feeling was back again. But this time, it was much, much worse. He felt trapped, alone, and full of irrational fear. He couldn't pinpoint why, exactly, but he knew now that it had to do with _him_. What was fearsome in his life that _didn't_ have to do with _him_?

As Yuki's panic increased, so did his awareness. He was aware of everything and everyone surrounding him, proving he wasn't alone, but still felt the abandonment. Still felt like he was trapped. Something was happening to his rational mind. It was slowly slipping into the dark recesses of his mind, confusing him and making him question himself. Was someone doing this to him, or was he doing it to himself? Was he sick? Was he delusional? Had he finally cracked? But he dismissed all of these questions as he had finally realized what had caused this feeling. The answer came with the secretary who walked into his classroom.  
"Yuki Sohma?" The secretary asked kindly, looking for said student in the mass of students in the room. Yuki stood up.  
"Yes?"  
"There's someone waiting for you in the office. Should I send him down?" And with these words, Yuki changed. Standing before his class, his hands clenched into fists, eyes widening in horror, the fear inside of him welling up into his head and causing his whole body to shake. The whispers and confused glances everyone was throwing him made it worse. He could feel Kyo and Tohru staring at him. But they didn't understand. They didn't see who was coming, they didn't see the horrifying memories as they played through his mind.

Memories of Akito.

He understood now. His body was trying to warn him of his presence. Trying to signal to him that the man who had torn him apart and broken him was near, and that he was coming for him. Stupid Yuki, ignoring his instincts. But there was no denying it now, and nowhere to run. _How do I get out of this? _Yuki thought frantically.

"No," Yuki spoke shakily to the secretary. "tell him to go back to house. Tell him I'll deal with him there. I can't do this now," he said, looking at her with pleading eyes. Someone responded, but it wasn't her. It was Akito.  
"Oh, and why not, my dear Yuki?" Akito spoke slowly. Yuki felt the words sliver down his spine as he spun to face the door and the leather clad man that stood in it. The entire class looked at him in amazement, all wondering the same thing. Why had Yuki reacted this way? But they didn't know what _things _the man had done to him. They didn't know the torture he had been put through. They didn't know that his spirit was bidden to follow his every command. They didn't know anything.  
"Do you wish the class to find out the things you have done?" Yuki threatened, struggling to maintain eye contact.  
"You cannot reveal what I have done without revealing your own secrets, rat." Akito responded coolly, gilding over to where Yuki stood. The students were confused, as 'rat' was commonly used as a nickname from Kyo, who was deemed the cat. Suddenly, a confused teacher spoke up.  
"Excuse me, but who are you?" the teacher asked nervously.  
"I am the head of the Sohma family, Akito Sohma. I would appreciate if you would allow me to . . . _borrow_ Yuki for a couple hours," Akito responded with a leer at Yuki. At this, Tohru and Kyo tossed concerned and panicked looks to Yuki. He waved them off, despite his own fear.  
"Anything you want to do to me can be done here. I refuse to follow you." Yuki said defiantly. He saw Kyo shake his head out of the corner of his eye.  
"As you wish. However, I wish to speak to you without your precious guards." Akito said, turning to Tohru and Kyo. "Get out of here." The two looked to Yuki, who nodded. They reluctantly moved out the classroom, Tohru giving Yuki a concerned nod, tears brimming at what she was afraid would come, and Kyo nodding towards him with a sympathetic look in his eyes. Once they were out of the room, Akito spun on Yuki.  
"Now that you enemy is out of the room, I expect you to surrender the confident façade. We both know how I affect you . . ." Akito drawled, circling Yuki. Yes, it was true. Yuki felt utterly helpless and terrified at the loss of all support. His peers were all at a loss, his teacher was far passed confused, and no one knew what this man was capable of. He glanced around, assessing all possible escape routes. As this was the third floor and he wasn't as graceful as a cat, jumping out the window might be dangerous. That left him with the door to the hallway. Which was a long shot. He, however, refused to surrender to Akito's game. Not this time.  
"What do you want, Akito?" Yuki spat at said man.  
"Now, now, is that any way to speak to the head of your family? The one who controls your every move? The one who can be so very . . . convincing?" Akito growled.  
"Akito-sama, what can I do for you?"  
"There. That was perfect. Actually, there is something you can do for me."  
"Oh?" Yuki was growing more and more uncomfortable. He thought Akito coming here was just so that he could play with his mind a bit, make the other students question him. But apparently, there was something Akito was actually aiming for.  
"Yes. A favor of sorts. You see, I have been rather bored recently. With Hatori being used to my games, it got old very quickly. You, however, have escaped my grasp for quite some time. I thought it was time to share some of my games with you . . ."  
"What do you want me to do?" Yuki asked, the shakiness now apparent in his voice.  
"Go hug a girl." Akito said, smirking. Yuki's eyes widened and he stared at the man, fear in his eyes.  
"You wouldn't."  
"Oh, but I _would_."  
"No." Yuki said firmly. "I will not play your stupid game. You can't force me to do anything in front of all these people without creating a huge uproar. Nothing at all." Yuki hoped that Akito would just back off, just for once. But, as expected, he was never that lucky.  
"You have spent too much time away from home, Yuki. You should come back to Sohma house . . . " Akito said, slowly coming closer to Yuki. Yuki took a step back, which made a smirk blossom on Akito's face. Everything was going according to plan. "You should come back, so I can retrain you . . ." Yuki's eyes went wide as the words sunk in. Suddenly, his back hit a wall and he realized he had been cornered in the back of the room. Desperate to escape him, Yuki slid down the wall, hyperaware of all his peers' stares on him and Akito. "You should come back to that little room, that dark, little room that I keep just for you . . ." Yuki's eyes snapped shut and he covered his ears, trying to escape the entity that was Akito. But sadly, you can't do that. And finally, Akito delivered the final blow.

"You should come back to the room where I broke your soul."

And Yuki screamed. He screamed so loudly, his own ears rung. His eyes filled with tears as he tilted his head back and scratched his neck, lost in desperation, no longer in control of his own body. He just screamed and sobbed, hating every inch of the man in front of him. The man that tortured him for years, trapped him for years, and tore him apart for years. He no longer cared about maintaining appearances or making sure no one knew his secrets. He no longer cared at all.  
"I HATE YOU!!!" Yuki screamed. "EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME, ALL OF IT WAS FOR YOUR _ENTERTAINMENT!_ **I HATE YOU!!!**" Yuki screamed, ears still covered. Suddenly, he felt a deathly cold hand on his cheek. His teary eyes snapped open to see Akito smirking widely an inch from his face. Akito leaned in and whispered something softly. Only Yuki heard what he said.

"And yet, you can never escape me."

And as Yuki's body collapsed on the ground in the back of the class room, as the students stared in horror at the man, as everyone begun to realize that Yuki had been tortured by this man his entire life, Akito walked out of the room, delighted.


End file.
